Important considerations when designing communication equipment for space-based platforms include the weight, complexity and power consumption of the equipment. A further consideration relates to minimizing losses in signals received from (uplink) and transmitted to (downlink) ground-based stations. By example, for conventional transmitters that employ a phased array of antennas, significant losses can occur within a beam forming system that is coupled between the outputs of power amplifiers and the inputs to the phased array of antennas.